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Fetal distress can occur for a variety of reasons during labor and delivery and some causes are more urgent than others. How your health care provider handles it is key to what the outcome will be.
What fetal distress is, is a baby's oxygen supply through the placenta and umbilical cord being compromised and causing heart decelerations or inactivity. Babies who are doing well in utero have strong, stable heart rates, even with contractions, and show increased activity to appropriate stimulus. Babies in distress will respond in a variety of ways, including passing the first stool, which is called meconium.
If fetal distress is observed during pregnancy, most likely through ultrasound or a non-stress test, your health care provider will most likely consider an induction or schedule a c-section if the situation appears ominous. Babies can also become distressed for low amniotic fluid and cease growing properly. These cases usually call for a surgical delivery for the well-being of your child.
When fetal distress occurs during labor, the action taken will depend on the situation you are in. If an induction was done and the baby is having heart decelerations below 90 and not recovering well, your provider will quickly decide if a c-section would be the best option for delivery. Once a baby's oxygen supply becomes compromised, it can be just minutes before a delivery needs to take place to birth a healthy baby with no respiratory difficulties.
If you go into labor and your water breaks with your baby having immediate decelerations that are not responding well, a c-section will also be considered strongly. If it appears that you are dilated past seven centimeters and entering the transition phase, your provider may opt for augmenting your labor with pitocin. Since a c-section also carries risks, physicians do not always opt for it though many certainly do.
Maybe labor began fine for you but restriction to your bed by hospital staff has limited your mobility, a case like this may cause your baby to react poorly to labor. Babies know when something is not right and let you know. If you are lying in the wrong position or not moving enough, your baby could respond with a decreased heart rate or even by passing meconium.
How meconium is dealt with will depend on what it looks like and what your provider's approach is. Old meconium is yellow and less likely to be a problem then thick, green, particulate meconium which may have already caused your baby to "gasp" in utero.
If your doctor thinks the meconium is a problem or it is accompanied by decreased heart rates that do not recover well, a c-section will be the safest approach.
Fetal distress is a serious condition and one which warrants prompt attention. Though many babies will have decelerations during labor and delivery, how it is viewed and handle by your provider will tell you what the outcome will be. Listen closely to your provider and do what is best for your new baby.
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